Dental device



Oct. 18, 1955 Filed April 19, 1954 H. FREEDMAN DENTAL DEVICE 2Sheets-Sheet l @ma @m 07% ATTORNEYS Oct. 18, 1955 H FREEDMAN 2,720,702

DENTAL DEVICE Filed April 19, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG. 7

FIG. 8

INVENTOR. HYMAN FREE DMAN By w, M awa., amg f7@ ATTORNEYS United StatesPatent O DENTAL DEVICE Hyman Freedman, New York, N. Y. Application April19, 17954, Serial No. 424,119 Claims. (Cl. 32-69) This invention relatesto improvements in a dental device of the general character described intwo of my earlier Patents No. 2,393,319 dated January 22, 1946 and No.2,571,856 dated October 16, 1951.

In my Patent No. 2,393,319 I show a dental mirror combined in one unitwith a Water injector, an air injector and a lamp for illuminating thepatients mouth. rIhe advantages of such a device are obvious as itallows for the cleaning and examination of the patients mouth to be madewith one instrument and thus does not necessitate frequent insertionsand withdrawals of many instruments as in the case when they areseparated. Such a device further allows the dentist to perform thecleaning and exploratory functions withl one hand While. leaving theother free to hold other instruments such as drills and the like.

ln my Patent No. 2,571,856 I disclose a method of attachment of acombined mirror, water and air injector device to air and Water pipeswherein there are separate mechanisms for operating each injector tube.While such a mechanism is sufiicient when there are only two tubes tooperate, it becomes more diiiicult to operate when there are two tubesplus a light as set forth in my Patent No. 2,393,319. It is therefore anobject of my present invention to provide a simple yet effective meansfor operatngv an air injector tube, a water injector tube and a lamp,all of which are combined in one dental device along with an examiningmirror.

It is proposed to accomplish this by providingan assembly in which by ashrinking or a hypodermic syringe-like manipulation of the device, thelight, air injector and water injector become operative in that order.Thus when the water injector is operating, the air injector and lamp arealso operating. This is advantageous because when thel dentist Wants touse air, he naturally would desire light for illumination and wheneverhe used water for cleaning, he would also desire air at the same time inorder to give a more vigorous cleaning action. if only the light isdesired, thenthe assembly is shrunk just slightly.

Still another object of the invention is to provide for a couplingbetween the combination air, water and light dental device andcorresponding sources of air, water and electricity so that the devicecan be easily detached for sterilization.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a sectional view of the dental device constructed inaccordance with the invention;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged view of Fig. 1 showing the coupling assembly indetail but with the air valve open;

Fig. 3 is a side view of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a plan view of Fig. 3 taken along line 4-4;

Fig. 5 is a plan view of Fig. 1 taken along line 5 5;

Fig. 6 is a view of a slightly modified form of the invention;

Fig. 7 is a side View of Fig. 6; and

Fig. 8 is a View of my dental device shown connected to a relay foroperating a spot light.

Referring to the drawings in detail, in which like nu*- merals are usedfor like parts, 1 denotes generally a head portion of a dental devicecomprising an air injector tube 3, a Water injector tube 5, a lamp 7 andmirror 9, While 11 denotes a base portion comprising a water sup plypipe 13, an air supply pipe 15 and a source of electricity 17. The airinjector and water injector tubes are connected to air pipel bushing 30and the water pipe bush;- ing 31 by means of stainless steel couplings19. The bushings in turn are connected to the supply pipes. Waterinjector tube 5 and air injector tubev 3' are held together by means ofan annular stainless steel disc 2 while water pipe 13 and air pipe 15are held together by a stainless steel annular disc 4. Annular discs 2and 4 are large enough so that they can easily be gripped by the lingersin the same general manner as one grasps a hypodermic syringe. 6 denotesa stainless steel retractor or back plate which serves to depress thesides of the mouth and to protect the relatively frail mirror and tubeassembly from undue bending. TheV retractor 6 is attached rigidly toannular disc 4 by Welding or other means and slides freely through slot8 of the annular disc 2.

7 denotes a lamp for illumination of. the oral cavity connected to asource of electricity 1-7. The lampA is screwed into stem- 10' which inturn is telescopically re'- ceived in tube 12. The electrical circuit iscompleted when stem 10 comes incontact with plunger 14 which is forcedout ofA the tube 12 by spring 16. The spring 16 and plunger 14 aresopositioned that when annular discs 2 and 4 are in their free and normalposition, that is, when no force is exerted on the discs to bring themtogether, the electrical circuit is broken. Stem 1-0 isV so made that itcan be completely slidout of theV tube 12 and disc 2 in order that thebulb 7 may be more easily changed. Stem V'10 is normally held iixedtodisc 2 by means of a spring lock 18. Spring 16 and plunger 1'4 areinsulated from tube 12 and are a part of the positive electrical wire.Plunger 14 connects to aninsulated wire in stem 10 and so on to the lampwhere the circuit is completed by grounding to the stem.

20 and 22 denote generally an air valve and a water valve which are ofthe same type as that found in automobile tires. The valves are normallyheld closed .by valve springs (not shown) and are only open when airtube 3 and water tube 5 depress the valveV opening stems 24v and 26.`The water and air tubes are normally held off of valve stems 24 and 26by springs 21v and 23. In

order to depress the springs 21 and 23 and allow the tubes in turntoropen the air and water valves, it is necessary to` bring discs 2 and4 together in a syringe-like manipulation. That is, disc 2 is grasped bythe index and middle fingers of the hand while disc 4 rests in the notchof the hand between the thumb and index finger. By making the airinjector tube longer than the water injector tube, it is possible thento have the air valve open before the water valve. Thus, it is seen thatby a steady sequential movement, luminated, then the air valvewill openand last the Water valve will open. The total force tending to spreadthe discs apart when the water valve, air valveand lamp are alloperating, is the sum of the compression forces of springs 16, 21, 23and the two valve springs (not shown). It is therefore necessary inorder to operate the device without undue effort, that the springs be aslight as possible but still strong enough to perform their severalfunctions.

In Figs. 1, 2 and 3, mirror 9 is carried by plate 25 which is Welded tojet nozzle 27. Jet nozzle 27 in turn is rotatably clamped to the air andwater tubes so that it and the mirror are free to be rotated about thelateral axis of the device. The mirror has an orifice in its first thelampwill bel il.

center in which to receive the opening of the jet nozzle. This openingis placed 45 to the mirror so that the air and water streams areprojected also 45 tothe mirror. The mirror is of the front surface type,that is the Vreiiecting surfaceV is applied to the KVVface of themirror, so that there is as much reecting surface as possibleimmediately surrounding the area where the jet nozzle protrudes.

In Figs. 6 and 7, a slightly different mirror 32 and method forattachment to the dental device is shown. There the mirror is of theconventional type and is at tached to disc 2 by means of two legs 26 and28. The mirror can'be removed completely from the assembly by merelyspreading the legs. In this modification, the air and water tubes Vjoininto one common tube 33 which ris bent 45 tothe retractor and ispositioned adjacent the mirror. The opening of the nozzle is the same asin the prior embodiment, that is 45 to the plane of the mirror.

It is seen in both embodiments of the invention that by unscrewing thecouplings'19 from the air and water pipes 15 and 13, that the device caneasily be disconnected for sterilization Vand cleaning. With this inmind, the insulation for the lamp and the gaskets for the air and VwaterValves are made from materials, such as neoprene,

which can be placed in boiling water without damage.

In both forms of the invention, the retractor plate 6 is provided with acut opposite the light so that the bulb may illuminate the complete oralcavity.

' VMany dental chairs are provided with large spot lights connected tothe regular 110 volt source of electricity and are usually directed sothat their spots will illuminate Y the patients mouth. However, if thepatient moves slightly, he then has the spot shining in his eyes. Bymeans of my novel dental device as shown in Fig. 8, I

` canrturn the spot light on and off so that it will be on only when the'dentist is actually working on the patients mouth. I do this by makingthe current which o'ws when small lamp 7 is illuminated, operate a relayswitch V34 which in turn controls the current from the conventional 110volt source of electricity to the spot light 35. For clarity, I call thecircuit containing the small lamp 7, a secondary circuit, and thecircuit containing the'rspot light 35, a primary circuit. It is thusseen that by the same slight unilateral movement bringing the head andbase portions of the device together, that the large spotlight canbe-operated in the same manner and sequence as the small lamp 7.

' I claim:

1. In a dental device: a base portion; a head portion Y movablelongitudinally ofthe device toward and away from said base portion; amirror, an illumination lamp,

a water injector tube, and an air injector tube all in said headportion; and a source of electricity, a'water supply pipe and an airsupply pipe all in said base portion; said lamp, said water tube, Vandsaid air tube being tele-y scopically mechanically associated with saidsource, said water pipe and saidY air pipe-,respectivelyg said lamp,

said water tube and said air tube being operatively con,

nectible to said source, said water pipe, and said air said baseportion.

2., A device according to claim l wherein theY lamp and the source areoperatively connected before the air pipe, respectively, as said headportion is'moved toward Y tube and the air pipe are so connected andsaid air tube and said air pipe are in turn Yoperatively connectedbefore the water tube andthe Water pipe are so connected.

3. In a dental device having a head portion and base portion, said headportion including water and air Yinjector tubes, a mirror and a lamp,and said base portion including water and air supply pipes andl a sourceof electricity; air and water valves placed between said air and watertubes'and said air and Water pipes, re-

spectively, said valves having valve opening stems adapted tween saidbase and head portions to force said portions t apart. Y

4. A dental device according to claim 3 Vwherein the lamp is carried ona stem which is adaptedrto Vengage a spring actuated plunger fixed tothe'base portion Vand operatively placed between said source ofelectricity and stem; said stem engaging the plunger and completing theelectrical circuit as the base and head portions are brought together.

5. A dental device according to claim 4 wherein, as

the head and body portions are brought together in a unilateralmovement, the lamp stem engages the plunger before the air tube engagesthe air valve stem, and said air tube engages saidair valve stem beforethe water tube engages the Water valve stem.

6.*A dental device according to claim 3 wherein said water and airinjector tubes join in a jet, said jet protruding through the center ofthe mirror and forming a point of attachment for the mirror to the headportion.

7. A dental'device according to claim 3 wherein the water and airinjector tubes join in a common tube inclined to the longitudinal axisof the dental device and adjacent the mirronsaid mirror being attachedto the.

head portion by two metal brackets.

8. A dental V'device according'to claim 3 wherein theV water Vand airtubes and lamp in the head portionare held together by a rst annulardisc,.and the waterV and air pipes and source of'electricity in thebaseportion longitudinally of the device toward and away fromfsaid baseportion to make and break said secondary circuit,VV

a spot light operatively positioned in a primary circuit, and a relayswitch connected to a source of electricity and operatively positionedin said secondary circuit'and in saidV primary circuit; said relayswitch being moved to make said primary circuit when said head portionand said base portion are brought together to make said' secondarycircuit.

References Cited in theleof this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,571,856Freedman f Oct. 16, 1951

